The Ocean's Abyss
by persassea
Summary: Percy and Annabeth just got out of Tartarus but Percy was fatally wounded with a cursed blade forged in the depths of Tartarus. Now something in him is changing. Can Percy get out of the abyss he's fallen into with the help of his friends or will he succumb to the dark forces that have taken over his soul? Dark!Percy. Rated M for content and language.
1. Chapter 1: Back at Camp

**Yo guys what's up? I got the inspiration for this story from listening to a Dark!Percy playlist and now I'm obsessed with the whole Percy being dark thing. For anyone who wants to listen to the playlist, here it is: (**** /ex-rush/dark-percy-fanmix).**

**I seriously need to get my life prioritized. Also, I might delete my HP stories, I've been losing inspiration with them lately and I just don't have the heart to write anymore HP stories. **

**Percy didn't want me to write this but it was too good. He thought it was an abomination against him but I just like making my brother miserable because he's always making my life miserable. He's currently pacing our room, worrying over how many people will think he is evil and everything. Perce, I'll make it up to you, I swear. **

**Percy: *sarcastically* I'm sure you will. *goes back to worrying***

**Me: I swear. You'll like the ending once we get there. I promise. **

**Percy: I'm gonna drown you. **

**Me: You can't drown me, dummy. Kid of Neptune. **

**Percy: You're still a good foot shorter than me. It won't be hard to drag your scrawny ass down under. **

**Enjoy while there is a possibility of me getting drowned. **

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><p>Chapter 1: Back at Camp<p>

They'd just gotten out of Tartarus, just a few days ago. Now they were back at camp.

Percy couldn't sleep. There was something that wouldn't let him. He'd been having nightmares but that wasn't it. It wasn't just mental... it was physical. He rolled out of his bed sluggishly and pulled on a pair of shorts, slowly and carefully to avoid sudden movements. It was as if putting on shorts would hurt him. He pulled on a hoodie in the same manner and walked out of his cabin. He headed towards the lake, barefoot.

Water. That's what he wanted, needed, right now.

Percy sat down on the dock, dangling his legs in the water. Normally, water calmed him down and he was hoping for that. But it didn't seem to be working for some reason.

He wondered if it was the cut-the cut on his chest he'd sustained by one of the monsters of Tartarus. It was a deep and messy wound, and it burned like the Phlegathon, only a thousand times more.

He would've died if it weren't for Annabeth.

Percy took off his shirt and fumbled with the bandages wrapped around the wound. It looked better; there was no blood on the gauze. Until he unwrapped it and looked at it. Nevermind. It seemed to have gotten worse. The wound looked like it was bubbling, festering, with the flesh torn up, and it seemed to have opened up wider. It was just barely being held together by the stitches. Luckily, the sword had missed any vital organs. Will had done a good job and stitched it up so tight, Percy thought the breath was being squeezed out of his lungs.

Percy ran his fingers over it and hissed loudly; it stung like hell. He had no idea how he managed to sleep through this pain. Then again, he didn't.

Percy sighed deeply. No one knew about this except Annabeth, and even then she had no idea how bad it was now. And she would never know. It was his job to be there for her, not worry her about whether he'd be okay. Right now, all that mattered was that Annabeth stayed safe.

Percy picked up the bandages and gingerly re-wrapped them around his chest. As he did, he sent out a prayer to Poseidon that this wasn't as bad it was. He hoped with all his heart that it was just a wound that would heal with time. He knew that it probably wasn't and would become something much worse. But he had no choice. Hope was his only resort.

Nothing could possibly save him now. Not even the gods.

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><p><strong>Sorry for it being so short. It was originally planned to be an intro for my forum but it got too good to be an intro and I had to start up on this story. <strong>

**R&R! For Percy's sake, please leave some nice comments.  
>-persassea<strong>


	2. Chapter 2: Ready, Seaweed Brain?

**Wow. I just posted that three days ago and this is the first time I've gotten so many follows within the first day of the story. It usually takes about four or five days. But wow, thanks so much, guys! This means a lot to me :) You all are awesome. I'm sure Perce really appreciates this as well. **

**Percy: Oh, wow... people are liking this... but I still don't understand why you had to grievously injure me.**

**Me: Dude. Everyone loves their favorite in pain. I personally love the process of character development and pain is a great pathway to go down to show that. **

**And because I've gotten such a positive response in such a short period of time, by the end of the week (Sunday), I'll have posted 5 more chapters for this story (not including this chapter) along with 3 more stories. My midterms are this week but I'll be dedicating the weekend to these stories! **

**Song of the day: Pittsburgh - The Amity Affliction  
>I feel that this song will fit very well with this story a little later on. But it's a great song, listen to it. <strong>

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><p>Chapter 2: Ready, Seaweed Brain?<p>

Annabeth was sleeping not-so-peacefully in her bed when someone yanked open the curtains of the window near her, sunlight flooding the room. Annabeth groaned and yanked her covers over her head. You might as well have let Apollo himself into the cabin.

"Annabeth! Get up! It's already eleven!" One of her brothers yelled at her across the chattering of their siblings. Annabeth had never slept in this late in her entire life. She was normally up and doing stuff by eight. But, the last six days, she'd been sleeping as much as possible. She hadn't slept in so many days, she'd lost track of how long she was awake. Tartarus had drained nearly everything she had in her. Percy was the only thing keeping her going the whole time. And then there was that time where he had almost died from that wound... Annabeth shuddered, and pushed the memory away. She didn't know what she would do if Percy had died there...

Annabeth dragged herself out of her bed and to the bathroom, where she pulled on her camp T-shirt and a pair of shorts and pulled her hair back into a ponytail. She staggered over to the sink and turned on the tap. She splashed some water on her face to wash away the sleep, or lack thereof, and as she dried her face off, she froze when she caught her reflection in the mirror.

She looked like... death. Her blonde hair was all limp and straggly and tangled up and it seemed to have lost its color. Her skin was a sickly pale white color and there were dark circles under her eyes from the many sleepless days. Cuts and bruises littered her arms and legs and band-aids covered them up. There was a deep gash on her arm from a battle with the _empousai. _Her entire body was sore and aching from her time in Tartarus. But whatever she looked like, it was nothing compared to what Percy had gone through. He'd taken so much to protect her. He'd nearly died for her.

Percy. She should check on him, see how he was doing. She quickly dried her face, grabbed a random pair of Converse from the shoe rack in her hands, and ran down to Cabin 3 barefoot. She didn't bother knocking, just pushed the door open and dropped her shoes on the wood floor. Percy was sitting on his bed, trying to pull on a shoe that were clearly several sizes too small for him with a frustrated look on his face. Annabeth sat down on the bed and yanked the shoe away from him. Percy looked up, startled for a second, and when he realized it was Annabeth, he grinned and pulled her into a hungry, feverish kiss. Annabeth kissed back with equal fervor.

_Ugh, Seaweed Brain, I love you so much_, she thought as she kissed him. She couldn't get enough of him lately. Especially after almost losing him.

They broke apart for air and he smiled goofily at her. She grinned back at him.

"I love you, Wise Girl."

"I love you, too, Seaweed Brain. How's your chest?" She took a hold of his hand and turned it over in hers, feeling every bit of it. She wanted to memorize every part of him.

Percy's smile slipped from his face for a brief second but plastered it back on quickly before Annabeth saw. "It's getting better. I mean, it still hurts but not as much." That was a blatant lie. It hurt much worse than Percy was letting on but there was no way he was gonna tell her that. It would only worry her more and she had enough on her mind, what with the nightmares and everything. She didn't need to carry the burden of his pain.

"Good. That means you can play Capture the Flag then without a problem."

"Shyeah, of cour-wait, what?" Percy started without thinking about what he was saying and then he realized that she was talking about Capture the Flag. _Oh shit_, he grimaced in his head. _That's today. _He had completely forgotten about that. He groaned internally.

Fuck. There was no backing out of Capture the Flag.

"Capture the Flag. It's today, dummy." Annabeth smacked his head lightly, laughing.

"Do we have to? I haven't trained yet," Percy whined.

"Yes, we have to. So what if you haven't trained yet, I haven't either." She pushed for it. She really wanted to play, even though she was tired. But it was her favorite game. It involved a lot of strategy and she loved games that required thinking and planning.

"But I don't wanna," Percy moaned. Annabeth fretted silently. She really wanted to play. Begging wouldn't work on him.

"You have t-wait, are you backing out cuz you're afraid I'll win again this time?"

"What?" Percy said, startled. "No!"

"You're already forfeiting cuz you know you're gonna lose, huh?" She teased him. Percy's ego was easily shattered when it came to camp games. This was the only way to get him to do things. And it was fun watching him

"Please, Wise Girl, the only loser here is you. You didn't win the last game, I did," Percy shot at her. He was not having any of this shit.

"Sure, keep telling yourself that," Annabeth smirked. Percy stood up suddenly and made his way to the door where his normal-sized shoes were. He pulled them on angrily and Annabeth walked over to where he was. He hated losing at games and especially to Annabeth. Because whenever she won, she never shut up about it just like her siblings.

"Ready, Seaweed Brain?" She laughed. She thought this was so funny right now. Just wait until after he won. _We'll see who has the last laugh_, he thought, smirking to himself.

"Hells yeah. Bring it on, Wise Girl."

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><p><strong>Ugh, so sorry for the frequent switches in POV, it's a bad habit of mine when writing. Also, I hope it doesn't seem like I made Percy misogynistic cuz he's not. He's just really very competitive and likes winning. Especially against Annabeth. It's their thing, going on the opposite team and trying to outdo each other. <strong>

**R&R! Hopefully, I'll have two or three more chapters up by tomorrow night.  
>-persassea<strong>


	3. Chapter 3: Capture the Flag

**Jesus Christ, talk about a load of BS coming from my mouth. Sorry for not updating like I promised. Writing stories takes longer than I thought and I've been studying for my upcoming AP exams. Since it's only the beginning of March, I can promise one or two, three max, chapters for this story and a brand new Nico story. I'll be going on a hiatus once it's April cuz exams are in May so I gotta crack down. **

**Anyhow, I'm pleased by the number of follows and favorites I'm getting on this story, thank you guys so much. *sends love your way* Percy appreciates it too.**

**Percy: I actually wanna see how this story goes down**

**Me: *snorts* **

**Percy: *sincerely* I really do**

**Me: Riiiight. **

**Anyways, here's the new chapter. Enjoy. Percy and I went to Starbucks to order blue coffee today. They didn't have any :(**

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><p>Chapter 3: Capture the Flag<p>

Percy tightened the straps on his armor and put on his helmet. Blue feathers. Annabeth was on red this time. He almost snorted at the thought. Blue was definitely gonna win this time. With the Ares and Apollo cabins, it was inevitable.

He tucked Riptide into his belt loop and headed outside to the field where everyone was waiting for him. He was the leader this time. Last time it was Clarisse. Lately, she and Percy had been getting along and while it surprised them both to no end, it helped for the games. They usually won. And whenever the Athena cabin was on their side, winning was guaranteed.

"Jackson, why so late?" One of the Ares kids shouted at him across the field. "Getting some from Annabeth? I saw her walk outta your cabin!"

The crowd howled with laughter. Percy grinned.

"At least I _get_ some from my girlfriend. Can't say the same about you, Mateo."

The campers hooted. Mateo scowled.

"Fuck you, Jackson."

"No thanks. I don't do guys with their entire dicks shoved in their personalities."

The entire group was cracking up. Even Clarisse was on the ground, laughing. Percy laughed along with them. He loved this place.

"That's it. I'm joining the red team. Have fun with your loser team, Jackson." Mateo flipped Percy the bird and stomped away, muttering something about how Percy should shove it where his toilet paper sticks.

The campers were still in tears. Just as everyone was recovering, Connor Stoll called out, "Have fun getting your ass kicked by the red team, Feo Mateo!" Everyone just about lost it. Everyone, even Chiron, called him Feo Mateo behind his back.

Percy, fighting for air in between each laugh, managed to straighten up and address the team, laughter lingering in his speech. "Ok, guys... so... back to the game..." He paused and leaned down to stop laughing. Actually, his chest was hurting but he just wanted to pass it off like he was okay and needed to recover from laughing. He stood back up after a couple seconds.

"Alright, Greeks, listen up. Today's gonna be all about undercover, guerrilla type. Red's gonna do that so it doesn't make sense for us to go the let-everyone-know-I'm-here route. Knowing red, they'll probably have their flag in the deep part of the forest. Our flag's gonna be by the beach.

"So, what we're gonna do is have Clarisse and Chris defend the flag while everyone is at their assigned stations. But here's the thing: we're gonna be up in the trees this time. That way they can't find us too easily. Get dirty before getting up there, use mud, dirt, grass, something but cover up the feathers cuz that's a dead giveaway. I'll be stationed at the creek as usual.

"When Chiron gives us the go, instead of all of us charging at red, about ten of us will go on the offensive, and the rest, get out of there as fast as you can. Retreat as one group and then disperse quickly when you near your assigned station. Climb up the trees and hide. Leo's gonna lead you guys outta there. Got it? Any questions?"

Everyone shook their heads no.

"Awesome. Let's go."

Percy led the group to the forest where the red team and Chiron were already waiting.

"Next time, Percy, be on time," Chiron sighed. Percy gave a lopsided grin that said "Oops" all over it.

"Sorry, Chiron, didn't realize we were running late. Next time, though."

"Alright, campers, you know the rules. No intentional maiming or killing. Anyone who does so will be on dish duty for a week. Now, let the games begin." The horn sounded and everyone was off. Everything was happening so fast, Percy barely had time to process it all. Just before he turned around to head to the creek, he saw the blurred confused faces of the red team as they stood there, weapons in hand, bewildered by the blue team's actions. He laughed as he ran. They were _so_ winning this game.

Percy dodged through the trees until he reached clearing where the creek was located. He rushed in, the cold water splashing at his ankles. He drew his sword from his belt loop and waited, listening carefully for any rustle in bushes, alert and wide-eyed.

But nobody rustled. So Percy waited, splashed around for a bit, poured water down his head, and made water float around in the air in giant balls.

But nobody came within 50 feet for thirty minutes. Percy was starting to get impatient. Where was everyone? Surely, they would have found him by now. He was always stationed at the creek and he was the only thing standing in the way of the flag. Surely, someone must have snuck around the defenses and gotten here but not today. Nor was there any signal that his team had captured the red flag. He groaned and flopped down into the shallow water.

Ahhh. It felt good, relaxing his nerves and healing some small cuts and bruises. Even his chest. Percy sat up and stripped off his armor and threw them onto the shore. He started to pull off his shirt but thought better of it. What if somebody came and saw the... It wasn't worth the risk. So he kept it on and sat in the water, crossed legged. He placed his hands in the water and closed his eyes. He took a deep breath, and focused on the water, willing it to flow up into him and relieve the pain in his chest.

It was working. Percy could feel the water's power surging inside him and coursing throughout his body. He was starting to feel much better. He opened his eyes and looked down at his chest; the blood was cleaning itself away and the wound looked like it was sealing itself up. He relaxed and closed his eyes again. Finally. He took another deep breath and concentrated harder, hoping to get rid of the wound completely.

Suddenly, his eyes shot open and he gasped loudly as he doubled over in intense pain. His hands flew to his chest as he cried out, eyes watering up. Everything started going blurry. What was happening to him?

_Oh my gods_, he thought, _I'm gonna die_. The last time he thought that was when that monster sliced him open with that cursed blade back in Tartarus.

It seemed like the water was burning him from the inside. It wasn't the wound but the water. His body was rejecting the water. He couldn't take it anymore. With a great yell, he broke connection with the water and the power exuded from him, spreading out like a ripple from him at lightning speed with great force. It was like an explosion. Yeah, that was definitely gonna bring people here.

Percy was on his hands and knees, gasping for air like a fish out of water. _What the hell just happened?_ He thought blearily. He stood up, shaking, breathing ragged. He shook his head and tried to make sense of what just happened.

Just then, at that moment, he heard a yell and several of the red team members jumped out of the bushes, surrounding him at all angles. How convenient that all his armor had to be off and on the beach, several feet away from him. He was practically fighting naked here. One of the Athena guys noticed this and he took his ax to Percy's armor, a grin spreading across his ugly face as he looked at Percy with hunger in his eyes.

_Fantastic_, Percy thought. Then he looked over to his left to see Riptide lying in the clear, shallow water. The Celestial Bronze metal was glowing an unearthly blue and red color, making it look that deadly purple shade of Drew's favorite lipstick. Percy charged over and picked it up. As soon as he did, he felt a surge of power from the sword flow through his veins like white-hot lightning. He took a deep breath and the power traveled through him again. A wicked grin spread across Percy's face as he lifted the sword.

With lightning speed, he attacked. He lunged for the kid in front of him and slammed the butt of his sword into his nose. The boy crumpled to the floor, knocked out. Percy whirled around and slashed through the air viciously at his next opponent, a daughter of Aphrodite. A furious duel broke out, swords clashing, sparks flying everywhere, both making quick, skilled maneuvers with their feet. The girl was good but not good enough. Percy smirked and side-stepped her as she attempted a backhand swing but stumbled. Furious, she got back on her feet and lunged at him with an overhead stab. Percy ducked the strike, side-stepped and swung out his sword, slicing her leg all the way across. The girl cried out in pain and dropped her sword as she stumbled backwards to get away from the battle scene. Percy stepped towards her menacingly, sword held high over his head.

"Having fun?" He chuckled, his laugh echoing strangely in the area. The girl's eyes widened in fear as she backed away.

"Y-Your eyes... " she whispered hoarsely. They had gone from their original sea-green to onyx black, glowing red. It was like there was fire in his eyes that had consumed his soul. Percy looked at her, slightly confused, and then hit her in the temple with the flat of his blade. She fell to the ground unconscious.

"You'll pay for that, Jackson," A low, gruff voice behind Percy spoke up. He turned around to face the Athena kid who had taken the ax to his armor.

"Make me," Percy challenged tauntingly. He delivered the first blow to the dude's stomach with the butt of his sword hilt, making him double over and gasp. He recovered quickly however and the two engaged in a furious one-on-one. The guy struck at Percy over and over again but he only blocked each blow and for every block, an additional hit was delivered. Percy was winning this fight already. The guy was tiring out fast but Percy only seemed to be getting stronger by the minute. He took deep breaths and let the energy course through his veins as he fought. It felt good. He was winning.

The fight continued until the Athena kid made a wrong step and lunged awkwardly, a point at which he left himself exposed right under his arm. Percy noticed and took the opportunity to slash in an uppercut to the underside of his arm. The guy cried out and dropped his arm down, another mistake. With that, Percy delivered a kick to the guy's chest and he fell to the ground. The kid scrambled away backwards on all fours desperately, wanting to get away

Percy laughed manically. Just as he was celebrating his new found glory, pain shot through his right calf and he cried out in pain and almost fell. He staggered forward to the water where it healed his cut instantaneously. He whirled around to confront his attacker. Whoever it was, he was going to pay.

He came face-to-face with Mateo. Feo Mateo. Percy's lip curled in disgust. Mateo had this big smirk on his ugly face like he was the one who had killed all the monsters in the world and gotten awarded for it. Gods, Percy hated this guy. He was so much of an a-hole that Percy wanted to kill him. And now was his perfect chance.

The two boys circled each other, like dogs in a ring, ready to fight. Percy was the first to lunge. He swung his sword sideways onto Mateo's helmet, knocking it off in the process. Mateo took a stab at Percy but he dodged it and swung a low hit sideways where it sliced the back of his leg open. Mateo hissed and slammed the flat of his blade against Percy's head repeatedly, who threw him off after he got in several hits. They circled like wolves again.

"You know, Jackson, I really hate you," Mateo remarked as they watch each other's moves.

"Good to know, Feo, I hate your ass, too," Percy said snidely.

"I should kill you right now. I could do it."

Percy snorted. "Yeah, right. Keep dreamin', Ugly."

"I can. Yeah, sure, Chiron might sentence me to the dishes for a bit but after that... oho, man, I'm free from you. Free from you and your sorry kiss-up ass, thinking that you're better than everyone else here just cuz you defeated Kronos and Gaea. You're not as great as they say. You're just some scrawny, pathetic kid from New York."

"Keep talking, Feo."

"After you're gone, who knows? Maybe Annabeth will finally look at me. I've always liked that girl. She's damn fine, too, if you know what I mean." The smug look on Mateo's face grew wider.

Percy felt his eyes blazing with anger. "Shut the hell up." He struck out. Mateo grinned. He'd gotten to his weak spot.

"Oh? Am I being too perverted? I'm sorry. It's just that the girl's hot. I wonder what she'd be like in bed..."

Percy was now getting pissed off. How dare he say something like that about Annabeth, his girlfriend? How dare he. His anger starting to get in the way of his thinking, he swung blindly, only to miss and trip forward. He caught himself before he hit the ground. Before he could regain his balance, he felt Mateo grab his arm and flip him around, and then kick him back onto the ground. Percy scrambled backwards. All this while, he never lost his grip on Riptide.

"Angry, huh? That's too bad, Jackson." Mateo kicked at Percy's chest multiple times. Percy hissed in pain; the stitches were ripping, he could feel them.

"Your anger doesn't matter. It means nothing." The son of Ares leaned down and delivered an uppercut to Percy. His head snapped back violently. Blood trickled out of his nose. Mateo slammed the hilt of his sword into Percy's temple repeatedly until blood was running down the side of face. Percy felt dizzy but forced himself to keep from fainting.

"Hell, Jackson, I don't even have to kill you. You just barely alive is enough." Mateo took his sword and slashed it across Percy's face, leaving a large, deep cut across his cheek and part of his nose.

"That way you can watch while I fuck Annabeth senseless."

That did it for Percy.

The blood roared in his ears and he let out an angry yell as he grabbed Mateo's head and slammed it to the ground so hard there was a small cracking sound. He pulled himself off the ground, climbed on top of Mateo who was face down, and started whaling down on top of him, one, two, three, four, five times, over and over again. Mateo attempted to flip out from underneath but Percy held his ground and kept him pinned down. Again and again, he delivered uppercut after uppercut to the jaw until he heard a crack.

How fucking dare he? How fucking _dare_ he? Now, he was going to pay the price for talking like that about Annabeth.

Then he got up off Mateo and dragged him down to the creek, throwing him in against a rock. Mateo cried out but Percy quickly silenced him by bringing about a wave that crashed down on them, making it hard to breathe for anyone who wasn't a kid of Poseidon. Once the wave settled down, Percy picked him up and threw him against the rock over and over again until the back of his head was bleeding with a deep gash on it.

He paused to lean into Mateo's bruised and bleeding face. Mateo attempted to back away, eyes wide with fear but Percy grabbed the front of his shirt and pulled Mateo's face to his own.

"I will kill you." He hissed and spit in Mateo's face. Then he threw him back on the ground.

Percy continued to punch, kick, and maul Mateo relentlessly. He heard him cry out for help but continued to whale down on him. His vision was clouded by his blood lust. All he saw was red. He wanted Mateo dead.

After that, everything was a blur. He didn't know how long it was until he heard fuzzyvoices calling out his name repeatedly and pulling at him. He just shook his head and continued beating up Mateo with all that he had.

"Percy!"

"Percy!"

"Percy, please stop right now!"

"Oh my gods, Percy, you'll kill him!"

"Please, Percy!"

Suddenly, all the voices got clearer and Percy snapped out of his stupor. He looked down to see his hands bloody with Mateo knocked out unconscious underneath, face bloody and broken. Oh gods. Percy got off him immediately and stood up.

Everyone in the camp had to come to see what had happened. Annabeth was standing next to him, holding his arm gently, a gesture that silently asked him if he was okay. He turned slightly to put his hand on hers to let her know she was fine and that they would definitely talk about it later when they were alone.

Chiron was standing in front of him, a sad look on his face. Percy put his head down in shame. He'd hear about later definitely. But that wasn't what worried him. It was the fact that he almost killed Mateo and even worse, he had no idea what happened to him or why he'd done it.

"Dish duty for three weeks, Percy," Chiron said sadly and trotted away back to the Big House. Everyone exploded into protests. Especially angry was the Ares cabin.

"That's not fair!"

"He almost killed Mateo and he gets _three weeks of dishes_ as punishment!"

"He should be thrown to the hellhounds!"

"I'll kill him myself if I have to!" That was an Ares kid.

Percy just stood there in the creek, taking all the insults thrown at him. He deserved it. He deserved a lot worse.

"Percy?" Annabeth's voice was quiet.

"Yeah?" He whispered hoarsely. He tried to swallow the lump of guilt forming in his throat but he couldn't.

"Let's go back to the cabin. C'mon." She took his hand and led him out of the clearing with the rest of the campers following them, complaining about his lenient punishment.

Percy let himself be led back to his cabin by Annabeth. He sat down on his bed, unable to think. What had he done?

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><p><strong>Percy: Wow... that was intense...<strong>

**Me: Yeah... it wasn't supposed to end like that... totally different track...**

**R&R guys! That took me two hours to write. The next two chapters will be a bit on the shorter side.  
>-persassea<strong>


	4. Chapter 4: A Little Talk With Chiron

**Ever since I finished driver's ed on Thursday, I've been feeling so free do all my free time things and that includes writing fanfiction! Like, even though I have a lot to study for APs, I still feel free, you know. Thank god though.**

**Just some things I felt needed some clarification in case anyone was confused: 1) Riptide and 2) Percy's eyes. So... **

**1) The reason Riptide was glowing blue and red was because whatever energy Percy had released when he broke contact with the water was absorbed. It's a metal so naturally it will absorb energy. I don't want to spoil any future plotline so this is all I'm going to say for now. The rest you will have to guess for yourself what exactly is going on. **

**2) Percy's eyes went from their original color to the black with red fire (or whatever, I can't remember) because the energy absorbed by Riptide was transferred to him but only when he kept contact with the sword. That's why he was able to snap out of it when Annabeth was calling his name. **

**Percy snuck into the neighbor's backyard so play with their koi fish, so I'm just gonna hit the road with this chapter. Like I said, it's gonna be shorter than yesterday's but it'll be a good amount long enough. **

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><p>Chapter 4: A Little Talk With Chiron<p>

Chiron calmly paced the floor of his office as he waited for Percy to show up. After Percy was done cleaning the dishes with the harpies, he had asked him to stop by in an hour. The boy had just nodded sadly and gone back to his cabin.

Chiron had never seen Percy behave the way he had with Mateo. It was quite disturbing. Percy looked so angry when he was attempting to kill the boy. Poor boy was being treated by Will and some of his siblings. He was still unconscious but his wounds were looking better now that he was fixed up to some extent.

But that wasn't the problem here. The problem was what Percy had done; he had grievously injured another camper and not only that, his intention was to kill. What was worse was that Percy hadn't been himself the whole time. When Annabeth broke him out of his trance, the boy seemed very confused, as if he hadn't any idea what he'd just done. Of course, Mateo must have provoked him in some way, but the way Percy had acted was what was bothering Chiron.

Could it be the injury that Percy sustained in Tartarus had-

A knock on the door interrupted Chiron's thoughts and he turned to see Percy standing in the doorway, looking sad.

"Ah, Percy, come in." Percy obliged obediently and stood in front of Chiron, who smiled at him.

"Sit down, don't stand there like a criminal. You did nothing wrong, my boy. Please. Sit."

Percy sat down on the couch behind him, head down. Chiron walked over to his desk where he picked up a glass of lemonade and offered it to Percy, who took it, downed it in one gulp, and set the glass aside. Chiron made himself comfortable with a mug of coffee.

"Now, Percy-" Chiron started but Percy interrupted him.

"Chiron, I'm really sorry. I really really am sorry. I don't know what came over me, I-I just-I don't even remember what happened, I'm so confused-"

Chiron held up his hand and Percy stopped his rant.

"Percy, I believe your apology would be better met by Mateo. You owe _him_ an apology, not me." Percy swallowed and nodded.

"What concerns me, however, is not what you did to Mateo, but why. What made you do what you did to the boy? I know you, Percy. You are hardly the type to unleash such anger on a fellow camper. As long as I remember, you have never wished anyone that much harm as you did today. What happened?"

"I-I don't know, sir. I don't even know what happened, the last thing I remember is... is being alone in the creek. I was on defense. And after that, I don't know..." Percy faltered, unable to explain further.

"Hm. So you say you don't remember anything."

"No sir."

"Do you remember what provoked you to hurt Mateo like that?"

"No, sir. Like I said, I don't remember anything after... it's all blurry."

"Well, that's unusual... You know what else, Sienna, from Cabin 10, told me that when she was fighting you, your eyes turned black, glowing red..." At this, Percy's eyes widened with alarm. Chiron noticed this and continued.

"Of course, this is a case of being possessed but we must find the root cause of this..." Percy shifted uncomfortably. "Have you any idea how this may have happened?"

"N-No, sir." Percy stuttered, head down.

"Well, that's a shame." Chiron shook his head sadly. "It would be helpful, even to have a hint. But whatever this is, we must find out, because if anything like this happens again, the camp could be in danger. This is really dangerous and I must warn you to be careful and look out for yourself."

Percy didn't say a word.

"Very well, Percy, you may go now. Remember, dish duty for three weeks. And if anyone asks, tell them I sentenced you to the stables as well." He winked and Percy laughed.

"Thanks, Chiron."

"No problem. Don't get into anymore trouble, now."

"I'll try my best, sir." Percy grinned, his old self again. He turned to the doorway and was just about to leave when Chiron called him back.

"Percy, how is your chest now? I just want make sure you were faring fine, especially after today's ordeal." The grin slipped from Percy's face and he turned pale.

"It's alright. I mean, it hurts some but not as much as before." Percy hated lying to Chiron, partly because he probably saw right through him, but he couldn't let them know how bad it was. It was getting worse and he couldn't let Chiron or Annabeth know what he was going through. He couldn't bring it on himself to let them share his pain. He'd have to heal it himself through whatever method he could find. He was probably going to die and he just couldn't let them know he wouldn't survive. It would destroy both of them. So, he mustered up the courage to plaster a fake smile on his face and attempt to assure Chiron that it was alright.

But Percy knew it wasn't. It was only a matter of time.

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><p><strong>Short and sucky but eh... <strong>

**New chapter tomorrow, most likely!**

**R&R!**  
><strong>-persassea<strong>


	5. Chapter 5: Just Let Me Help You

**I should study, I really should but I'm on a role with this story so I gotta keep writing or I'll forget all my ideas. That happens sometimes and then my story just ends up sucking cuz it doesn't go the way I originally intended. And frankly, this is one of the best stories I've written to date.**

**Again, much thanks to everyone who is reviewing, favoriting, or following-this means so much to me! I love you guys! Even Percy's grateful. **

**Percy: Yeah, like, this is actually good. **

**Me: I told you people would love it.**

**Percy: No, you didn't. I knew it all along. **

**Me: Don't lie. You thought your rep was going down the drain. **

**Percy: No I-**

**Me: Whatever, Percy. Go eat some blue cake or whatever. **

**Oh, and I forgot to mention this at the beginning of the story but this is post-HoH and pre-BoO**

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><p>Chapter 5: Just Let Me Help You<p>

Percy didn't show up at the campfire that night but nobody seemed to notice. Only Annabeth had. She was celebrating at first but that was until she realized that Percy wasn't even there. She had told Piper that she was gonna leave because she didn't feel well but Piper saw right through her and told her she got her covered and if anyone asked, Annabeth was in Cabin 6. Annabeth was grateful for a friend like Piper.

As she walked away from the campfire, she could still hear everyone laughing but to her ears, it sounded fake. As if they were trying to forget what had happened earlier today. She couldn't blame them; she wanted to forget it too and pretend it never happened but she couldn't. Something was up with Percy and she had to know what was going on. When she tried to ask Percy what happened back in the cabin after she took him there, he just said,"Later" and left for dish duty. Then he'd disappeared off to who knows where for the next several hours.

Annabeth reached the threshold of Cabin 3 and just walked in, no knocking or anything. She opened her mouth to call out Percy's name but stopped short before it left her lips. In front of her, Percy was sitting on his bed, clothes off, except his boxers, head in his hands. When he looked up to see who was in the room, he just stared at her, his eyes red and full of confusion and hurt. He looked bad. Annabeth didn't say a word. She just walked over, sat down on his bed, and put her arms around him. She leaned over and placed a tender kiss on his jaw.

"Percy," Annabeth said softly.

"Mm?" Percy shifted around to face her.

"What happened today? You can tell me about it..." She started to say but trailed off the more she looked into Percy's eyes.

Percy took a deep breath and whispered,"I don't know, Annabeth. I don't what I did to Mateo. I can't remember anything before you called my name."

Annabeth was silent. She was thinking.

"What did he say to you? That made you hurt him like that."

"I don't know. I told you, Annabeth, I have no idea what he said or what happened or what I did. I remember nothing." Percy's tone changed slightly and Annabeth became wary. She could tell he was getting angry. This was weird; he never got angry with her unless she did something stupid like taking a poisoned knife for him. Was he okay?

"Percy, try to remember. Surely, something-"

"I don't fucking know, okay? Why are you pushing for me to remember? I can't, okay?" Percy was definitely getting angry.

"Okay, sorry, sorry, I'm sorry, Percy. It's just... I'm worried for you, okay?" Annabeth rubbed Percy's shoulders in a loving way, but he shrugged her off.

"I don't need you to worry for me," Percy said coldly. "I'm fine, Annabeth. Seriously."

Annabeth was thrown off by the way Percy was acting. He never behaved in this way towards her. What the hell was going on? Then she realized something.

"Percy," she said sternly. "Let me see your wound."

Percy whipped his head around to look at her, alarm flooding his bright sea-green eyes. "No."

"Percy, let me see it." Annabeth reached towards the hem of his shirt but he pulled away sharply as if he'd been stung.

"No." Percy quickly stood up from the bed. Annabeth stood up quickly as well. Her boyfriend was a good four inches taller than her but she was just as strong as him. She crossed her arms.

"Why not?"

"Because..." Percy faltered, unable to come up with an explanation. "Because you can't, okay? You can't look at it?"

"Percy, why are you trying to hide this?"

"Annabeth, I'm not trying to hide anything." Now, Percy was backing away from Annabeth, hands up in defense. He couldn't let her see this. It would destroy her if she what was happening to him.

"You're still not fully healed, this could get worse. And remember, that blade was cursed and we have no idea what the effects are and-" Annabeth moved in on Percy. She had to know if he was alright.

"It's fine. I swear to the gods, it's all good."

"No, it's not, Percy. If it was, you'd have shown me by now. You're hiding something from me. I know it!" Annabeth's voice was going higher and higher. She couldn't help it. He was hiding this from her, why? Why was he lying to her about this? She could help him. She just needed to know he was okay. That's all.

"Annabeth, please..." Percy pleaded with her in a weak voice. He was now backed up against the wall. "Please, don't do this..."

"Percy, I need to know if you're okay," Annabeth's eyes were starting to tear up. She couldn't take this. Especially not anymore. Not after what they went through in Tartarus. He was all she had and she needed them to be honest with each other. She slowly reached for the hem of Percy's shirt.

"I'm fine," Percy said forcefully and pulled himself away from the wall and past Annabeth as fast as he could. In a blur, Annabeth's hand clamped down on Percy's shirt and she held fast, not yielding, stopping Percy before he could get away from her. He twisted around and attempted to pull away, but Annabeth refused to let him go.

"Let go, Annabeth!" Percy yelled desperately, yanking away as much as possible.

"Percy, just let me see!" She tried to pull the shirt up and over his head but of no avail. He was several inches taller. He again attempted pull himself away but only dragged her along with him. They fought like that for several minutes in the dark cabin until in a final, desperate attempt, Percy twisted out from under the shirt and got himself free of Annabeth's iron grip. Annabeth dropped the shirt and her hands flew to her mouth in horror.

The bandages on her boyfriend's chest were shabbily wrapped up, most of it rotting off from not being changed in seven days. The wound wasn't entirely visible but from what was, the flesh looked infected; it was crusted with dried blood and all torn up. Dried blood from today's fight soaked the bandages, or whatever was left of them.

Annabeth's eyes welled up with tears. She had no idea it had gotten worse since it had happened. Percy ran a hand through his hair, frustrated and angry.

"Are you happy now, Annabeth?" Percy shouted at her, angrily gesturing at his chest.

Annabeth shook her head, tears falling down her face.

"You think I wanted you to see this? Huh? You wanted to see this?" Now, even Percy had tears forming and falling down his face, but he kept yelling at her. She had to know why he did it. For her. "I didn't show you for this exact reason! I don't want you to have the bear the pain I'm going through! I can't put you through that! For the gods' sakes, I love you too much to put you through that pain! You think I didn't notice what you were going through back in Tartarus when I almost died? I prayed every chance I got, so I wouldn't have to see you cry over me! I don't want you to cry. I hate it when you cry, especially when it's over me. Cuz I never stop thinking it's my fault that you're hurting and I don't want to be the reason you hurt! I fucking love you, Annabeth! I can't see you like this!"

Hearing this, Annabeth sank to her knees, tears falling onto the hard floor.

"Oh my gods..." She managed to choke out just barely. She didn't know what to say. He lied to protect her. That's why he was so adamant to not show her the wound.

Percy knelt down and helped Annabeth onto her feet. She wrapped her arms around him tightly and cried into his shoulder for the next couple minutes. Percy held her back just as tightly and stroked her hair gently.

"Shh, shh, it's okay, Annabeth, it's okay, I'm still here" He held her quietly until her sobs stopped and he pulled her back at arm's length to look at her. Hell, she looked beautiful even with tear tracks on her cheeks. He reached up to wipe them away with his thumb.

"Hey, hey, I'm sorry, Annie, okay? I shouldn't have gotten mad at you, I'm sorry... Forgive me?" Percy gave her the cute puppy eyes and the lopsided smile and Annabeth caved inside. She laughed and said she forgave him.

Outside, there was a bunch of chatter from demigods walking past. It had to be 12 by now. Campfire was over. Annabeth swallowed and looked towards the door of the cabin.

"I should go." She started heading towards the door. "It's late."

Just as she reached the threshold, Percy caught hold of her wrist and spun her around.

"Please stay with me tonight," he pleaded, a desperate look in his wild eyes. Annabeth gently pried Percy's fingers off her wrist and smiled at him sadly. She went up on her tiptoes and kissed his lips gently for a brief second. Pulling back, she reached up to stroke his face gently. She smiled to herself. He needed to shave soon.

"Percy, you know the rules. Chiron-" Annabeth started to say as softly as she could but Percy cut her off.

"Who cares what Chiron will do?" He whispered to her, smirking slightly. "I'm already in enough trouble as it is. C'mon." He grabbed Annabeth's wrist again and dragged her over to his bed and sat her down. He went over to his closet and pulled out a t-shirt and a pair of shorts that Annabeth usually wore during her secret overnight stays. He tossed them to her and she quickly changed into them. Annabeth climbed into the bed and moved aside to make room for Percy. Percy sidled in and pulled the covers over them. Leaning forward, he kissed Annabeth's forehead and stroked her hair. Within minutes, she was asleep in his arms. Just as Percy was dozing off, he smiled and thanked the gods for his luck.

For the luck that was Annabeth. Only they knew how she was now his final hope.

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><p><strong>Aw. That ended up nice. <strong>

**R&R! New story tomorrow, maybe?**  
><strong>-persassea<strong>


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